On the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild …
Dan Rosen of NHL.com (mailbag): Questions included whether the Minnesota Wild will make a move and if Kevin Shattenkirk will be traded, among others.
Rosen alludes to the fact that the only player in the Shattenkirk sweepstakes may just be the New York Rangers. St. Louis wants a player, a first round pick, and a top prospect. That is a steep price to pay for the Rangers who would then have to sign the defenseman later.
Also, there is who Minnesota may not protect for the expansion draft. Two names that come up are Marco Scandella and Erik Haula. Why? That is to protect their young forwards.
Could Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall stand pat too?
Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post: The Philadelphia Flyers are in that undesirable position of being close to a playoff spot and yet close to being a seller too. Does Ron Hextall let the team sink or swim or does he pull the plug? The players want him to let them control their destiny.
“It’s still in our control,” Jake Voracek said. “We just have to outplay teams like we did in Vancouver. I think we played really good that game. It’s going to be really tight the rest of the year. We put ourselves in that position after winning those 10 games. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to focus on the future and go game by game and leave everything on the ice.”
Isaac admits that it falls on Hextall here. Also, there are the defensemen he could sell off and the goalies he could leave unprotected. Mark Streit carries the greatest potential for return. The constant inconsistency this late in the year makes it that much harder for Hextall.